Déjà vu

Déjà vu, from French, literally "already seen", is the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, whether it has actually happened or not.

It could be said that Impressionist images are some of the most iconic images of the 21st century. We see them unintentionally on everything from tea towels, calendars, stationary, coffee cups, clothing and the list goes on. These artworks are highly sort after by collectors, galleries and museums. They are targeted for theft or forgery with the artworks being sold on the black market. This creates an industry of specialist teams whose job it is to authenticate every artwork attributed to the Impressionist. So whether you consciously or unconsciously identify with an impressionist artwork, there is a familiarity we cannot escape.

But who would want to!

These artists were ahead of their time, rejected by their peers and loved by the public. They changed the way artists worked and the public looked at art, they made the everyday a thing of beauty to be admired, with colour and light to be their master.

In this exhibition Year 6 from St John the Evangelist Primary School have chosen impressionist artwork as their inspiration to create new work of their own. Many of these students have never painted on such a scale before, nor without a paintbrush. They embraced the challenge, charging ahead with dedication that would have made Van Gough, Monet and Degas smile.

Please enjoy.

Robyn RyanVisual Arts TeacherSt John the Evangelist Primary School Campbelltown